Brandon Smith (born December 10, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

and has also been a member of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

in the NFL and the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the XFL and later the United Football League (UFL).

Early life

Smith was born on December 10, 1998, in

Lake Cormorant, Mississippi Lake Cormorant is an unincorporated community located in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. Lake Cormorant is adjacent to the town of Walls and is north of North Tunica near U.S. Route 61. Lake Cormorant has a post office and a zip ...

. He attended Lake Cormorant High School where he was a three-year

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and won four letters in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. A

in football, he totaled 78 receptions for 1,382 yards and 15

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

. Then, as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he caught 80 passes for 1,509 yards and 19 touchdowns, finishing his stint with the team having made 206 receptions for 3,672 yards and 41 touchdowns. Smith was first-team all-conference as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, first-team all-state as a junior and senior, and was the 5A Region I Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year in both his junior and senior years. Additionally, in track and field, he was runner-up at the state championships in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

as a junior and then won the title as a senior. He was a three-star recruit and committed to play

for the

College career

As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

at Iowa in 2017, Smith appeared in 10 games, catching three passes for 15 yards, although he had a costly

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in their game against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

which led to a 17–10 defeat. He saw more playing time as a sophomore in 2018, starting 12 games and recording 28 receptions for 361 yards and two touchdowns. He had his best year as a junior in 2019, totaling 37 catches for 439 yards and five touchdowns while appearing in nine games. As a senior in 2020, he made 23 catches for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Although he had a remaining year of eligibility, Smith opted to declare for the

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following the 2020 season and concluded his collegiate career having made 88 receptions for 1,031 yards and nine touchdowns.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After going unselected in the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

, Smith signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He played in all four of the team's preseason games and caught seven passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He was

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by the Cowboys on August 31, 2021, then re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the following day. He was added to the practice squad

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reserve/injured list on December 27, 2021, then activated on December 29. He was signed to a reserve/future contract after the season, on January 17, 2022. In the 2022 preseason, he made six receptions for 118 yards and scored one touchdown. He was waived again on August 30, 2022, then re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released from the practice squad on January 30, 2023.

DC Defenders (first stint)

Smith signed with the

of the XFL on February 23, 2023, following the first game of the

2023 XFL season The 2023 XFL season was the second season in the reboot of the XFL, the first under its new ownership group of Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (RedBird Capital), and the third in the history of the XFL brand created and origina ...

. He appeared in eight games, none as a starter, for the Defenders, catching eight passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while also returning 10 kickoffs for 218 yards with a long return of 37. He also scored one

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

attempt.

Arizona Cardinals

Following the XFL season, Smith signed with the

of the NFL on June 12, 2023. He appeared in two preseason games for the Cardinals, catching one pass for six yards. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

DC Defenders (second stint)

Smith returned to the DC Defenders for the 2024 season, which they played in the newly-formed United Football League (UFL). He played in eight games for the Defenders, five as a starter, and caught 18 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns with a long of 40, also making three

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

New York Jets

Smith returned to the NFL by signing with the

on August 2, 2024. In the 2024 preseason, he played three games and caught five passes for 120 yards. He was waived by the Jets on August 27, 2024, then re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad injured list on September 27, then later activated from the list. He was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for the team's Week 15 game against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and made his NFL debut in the game, appearing on one offensive

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. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 6, 2025.

References

External links

New York Jets bioIowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brandon 1998 births Living people Players of American football from DeSoto County, Mississippi American football wide receivers Iowa Hawkeyes football players Dallas Cowboys players DC Defenders players Arizona Cardinals players New York Jets players